Hope
by HappyEndings831
Summary: Sequel to Cry. I deleted Journey, so this is in a new direction. B/B. R&R! *Spoilers for "The Doctor in the Photo"!


**Disclaimer: I do not own Bones! All rights, characters, etc. belong to HH, FOX, and Kathy Reichs.**

**This is my sequel to Cry. I got rid of Journey because I couldn't come up with any more material for the fic. I hope you like this, it ends happily! R&R! Enjoy! -Andy :)**

* * *

He lays awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom. There are exactly four spots, that he has counted, that have an uneven coating of paint, making them look like mini hills on his ceiling. He sighs as he looks to his left, where his girlfriend lays sleeping peacefully.

Her breathing continues its steady rhythm as he slips out of their bed. Quietly, he walks out into the front room and over to the window, beside his couch. The rain has started up again and he sighs, remembering how he broke an already fragile heart tonight.

_She hurt you first_, says one side of his brain, while the other argues, _You still love her, you stupid idiot. Way to go; you fucked up AGAIN._

Moments later, he hears the soft patter of her footsteps as she walks from their bedroom to where he stands.

"What's wrong, Seeley?" her voice is like thunder in the quiet room.

Seeley Booth looks over at his girlfriend, Hannah. She cringes at what she sees in his eyes. When he's with her he is always guarded, always afraid to let himself get too close, always one foot in and one foot out, always building up walls that no one can climb over, even if they tried to. Hannah, soon realizing what she sees, sighs audibly.

Seeley tears his sorrow filled, misty eyes away from her. He looks out at the rain as it pours down harder than it did earlier in the night.

"She told me she made a mistake," he says after a prolonged silence, "that, when I asked her to give us a chance, she felt the way I did," he turns to face Hannah, "but she's too late! And she cried, and she broke my heart all over again. I told her that I was with you and that you aren't a consolation prize."

Booth walks the few feet to the couch and then crumbles onto it. His head resting in his hands, he whispers, "I love you, I do, but…"

"You love her more," Hannah comes to sit beside him, resting a light hand on his shoulder, "You tried so hard, didn't you? I saw from the beginning, but I thought I was just being paranoid. The way you look at her when she doesn't notice, and the way her eyes light up when she sees you…they should have given it away. I just chose to ignore it because my love was blinding me from the facts," Seeley looks up at her in confusion, "You love her and she loves you, and I have to let you go."

"Why?" a tear makes its way down his face, the angle of his head forcing the droplet to land on Hannah's hand.

"Life is too short to not be happy with the person you truly love," she brushes a stray tear away from his eye before dropping a soft kiss to his cheek.

Seeley wraps his arms around her in a tight embrace, "I'm so sorry."

"Me too," Hannah sniffles and then pulls away. She stands up, brushing imaginary dust off of her legs and walks into the bedroom, coming out a few minutes later with all of her bags in her hands. She hadn't gotten the chance to unpack her bags since she moved in, "I'm going to stay at a hotel. Call me sometime? I wish you the best of luck," and she is gone. Hannah is out of Seeley's apartment, out of his life and in a taxi, heading for a hotel on the other side of town.

Seeley, with a sudden burst of energy, stands up from his sitting position on the couch and pulls on a t-shirt and a pair of pants. Then he slips on his shoes and puts on his coat. Picking up his keys near the door, he leaves his apartment, his hopes running high.

He arrives at her apartment in about ten minutes. Seeley can see the light on in her apartment, and sighs in relief. _Maybe she'll talk to me_, he thinks to himself.

* * *

When he reaches her apartment door he knocks thrice and waits patiently for her to open the front door.

She opens the door slowly, moments later, surprised to see her partner, of all people, standing before her, soaking wet, and three in the morning.

"Why are you here, Booth?" Brennan asks as she lets him walk inside of her apartment.

He looks at her, his heart beating faster than ever before, "I love you."

Brennan's jaw drops slightly, "What? W-what about Hannah?"

"We're over," Seeley takes her hands in his, "because I told her about tonight, and about how I still loved you. And do you know what she did?"

"What did she do?" Brennan looks at him, tears forming in her eyes.

"She let me go," Booth looks into her eyes, "Even she could tell that we love each other."

Brennan blinks, her head spinning, "I don't know what is going on. I'm so confused and heart rate has increased since you entered my apartment. And, earlier, when I got home, I started crying on the floor, with this terrible pain in my chest."

"Your heart was breaking, Bones," he explains, stopping her before she can comment, "Your metaphorical heart. My heart was breaking too. And, that other stuff? That's love."

Brennan looks at him skeptically for a moment and then her face relaxes, "I think I understand what you're saying."

Booth looks at her with a smile on his face. Not thinking about his actions, he takes her face in his hands and kisses her passionately. Pulling away a moment later, he looks at her, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Brennan smiles at him, before taking his face in her hands and kissing him on the lips.

The kiss is sweet and gentle, without tongue. When they each pull away, needing oxygen terribly, they look at each other with love in each of their eyes.

"We should take this slow," Booth smiled his signature grin before heading toward the door.

"I love you," Brennan says, testing it out, seeing how it sounds, "I like how that sounds. It feels good to say."

Booth smiles at her, "I love you too," and walks out of her apartment and down to the parking lot. He takes a moment just to stand in the rain, excited to see what tomorrow would bring.

* * *

The next morning, Dr. Temperance Brennan walks in the Jeffersonian Institute with a slight pep in her step and a small smile gracing her features.

She walks into her office, looking at the file laying on her desk. Maybe the victim isn't so similar to her after all. Brennan smiles to herself, realizing what she hadn't seen before.

And, in this realization, she comes to another one. When she turned Booth down all those months ago outside of the Hoover building, she told Booth she could not change.

But, here she is, changed. She has evolved from a loveless scientist with unrequited feelings for her partner of 5 years, to a woman with love in her heart, science in her brain, and hope in her life.

**THE END.**

* * *

**I hope you liked it! Reviews are always welcome. If you didn't like it, write your own stories. Thanks for the support! -Andy :)**


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